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Shelburne Free Press https://shelburnefreepress.ca/?p=4725 Export date: Wed Jul 3 15:23:00 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Moments to Remember On Tuesday, November 5, 34 students and 14 adults left Toronto for Paris to begin the 2013 Centre Dufferin Battlefields Tour. A pleasant surprise was the fact that the captain of the flight was Bruce Earle who not only grew up in Shelbune but was also the brother of one of the chaperones, Pauline Lloyd. This trip had been in the planning for two years and students had been preparing for it by researching Dufferin veterans, buying bricks to commemorate these veterans at Juno Beach in Normandy, France as well as researching various sites that the participants of the trip would be visiting along the way. The trip began with two full days in Paris where students experienced a coach tour of Paris to get their first glimpse of sights such as Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe and a trip up the Eiffel Tower at night to see the lights of Paris. On the agenda for the second day was a boat tour of the Seine and then a choice of excursions to Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Catacombs, Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur. The day ended with a night at the Lido, a famous Parisian nightclub on the Champs-Elysees. After a stop at Versailles, Louis XIV's opulent palace the next day, the group then headed north to Bayeux, which is situated in Normandy the site of the D-Day landings in World War II. From their base at the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux they would have the opportunity to visit many sites that they had been learning about for the last two years. Their first stop was Beny sur Mer, the Canadian War Cemetery where many of the Canadian soldiers who died during the Normandy invasion were buried. Then on to Juno Beach where Canadian soldiers landed on June 6,1944. Here they had a tour of the beach, the bunker and the only Canadian World War II museum. Despite it being windy and cold, the students and adults enjoyed their first experience at Juno Beach. The afternoon included a trip to Arromanches, the site of the artificial harbour that was a key component to the success of the Allies, the Guns at Longue Sur Mer, and the German Cemetery, La Cambe. Sunday, Nov 11 was the highlight of the time at Juno Beach. This was the day the students presented their veteran's story and the unveiling of the bricks they had purchased to commemorate their veteran. It was a very emotional and moving ceremony. The pride these students felt as they saw the bricks they had purchased was evident. The afternoon was just as emotional as they travelled to Pegasus Bridge and to L'Abbaye d'Ardenne where pictures of Canadian soldiers hang in the garden where they were shot. Remembrance Day had an early start as the group headed first to Neuville Dieppe for a WWI ceremony and then to Dieppe for a WWII Remembrance Day ceremony. At each ceremony students laid a wreath and following the ceremony at Dieppe John McMurray, our veteran spoke a few words which were translated by our guide, David Godfrey at the mayor's reception. Before they left students were given a Dieppe bag by the citizens to thank them for coming. Next stop was the rocky beach at Puys where so many Canadian soldiers came ashore in 1942. The bus then headed for Ypres, Belgium which marked the start of the WWI part of the tour. Upon arrival at Ypres, everyone hurried to Menin Gate and the Last Post Ceremony. This ceremony takes place every night at 8 p.m. and has been happening since July 1927 except when Ypres was occupied by German forces during WWII. Traffic stops and the Last Post is played by buglers from the volunteer Fire Brigade. CDDHS students and John McMurray laid two wreaths. Because it was Remembrance Day there were hundreds of people there from countries around the world. The next day meant a visit to Essex Farm, now a World War I cemetery where John McCrae wrote “In Flanders Fields” and 15 year old Joe Strudwick the youngest soldier to die in WWI is buried. The group then visited In Flanders Fields Museum and after lunch headed to Brugge, Belgium, often called the “Venice of the North” because of its canals. Here everyone went on a canal cruise, and indulged in Belgian waffles and French fries. Vimy Ridge was next on the itinerary and it did not disappoint. The tour of the trenches and the walk to the monument itself gave everyone time to reflect on just how much our Canadian soldiers went through during the war. The next stop was Nuremburg, Germany, the unfinished remains of the Congress Hall of the former Nazi Party. Then back on the bus to head to Munich, the last city on the tour. Friday saw the departure of Mr. Orford, the organizer of the trip who had to head back to Toronto to receive his Governor General's Medal for Excellence in Teaching History. The group went on a walking tour of Munich and then travelled to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp. For many, this site brought home the horrors of the concentration camps of WWII. Saturday was the last full day of the trip and the destinations were the Documentation Centre at Obersalzberg and Salzburg, Austria. Obersalzberg, offered the students a chance to visit the bunker complex begun in the summer of 1943 and houses over 16 km of tunnels. Salzburg offered some free time for last minute shopping and relaxation after a very busy trip. This trip was truly a once in a lifetime experience! Each and every participant holds a special moment that they will remember for the rest of their lives, from the girls who got up at 6 a.m. to go find their veterans' name on Menin Gate, or the students who were able to present a brick in a relatives' honour at Juno Beach or perhaps the feeling of pride they had when they marched down the street in Neuville Dieppe to the WWI Memorial. These moments are ones they will remember. By Lynn Codd  Centre Dufferin Students proudly holding a Canadian flag at Vimy Ridge.  Kayla Noble, Riley Kirsten and Liam Seston pose with the buglers from the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium.  CDDHS students get their first look at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.  Left to right, Marc Godbout, John McMurray and Thomas Hallett-Hale prepare to lay a wreath at the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate.  Huddling under umbrellas on Juno Beach.  Ewan Matthews places a poppy on Etsel Cook's grave in Beny sur Mer.  Centre Dufferin students get their first look at the commemorative bricks they purchased for their veteran at Juno Beach. |
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Post date: 2013-11-21 09:32:45 Post date GMT: 2013-11-21 14:32:45 Post modified date: 2013-11-27 13:27:49 Post modified date GMT: 2013-11-27 18:27:49 |
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